Legend
by xKazuko
Summary: A three year disappearance, an herbal remedy for painful memories, and a familiar stranger. Link's back in Hyrule for revenge.. But who is his target?
1. The Prettiest Wallflower

Zelda! Yay! -cheers- Don't you just love Link? 

Of course. And we're going to see some fluff. Maybe. I don't know. And I don't know how long this is going to be.

You see... This was an RP. Roleplay? Uh huh. I used to be so into that. XD /Used to/ not being so valid, but hey.

I played Link.. Because it was really the only nicely written topic and like... She was Zelda. It was her idea... This whole thing. So I don't own the Characters /or/ the storyline. I own half of it, kind of! XD

But I don't own the idea. The whole.. Three years thing. So no.. Pyromaniacsrule.. I do not know your real name.. But yesh. o.o;; There's your recognition. o.x

So.. I kind of have half of this done.. Like.. The Link's part half. But I'm going to have to make the Zelda's part up from memory.. (So really, that's mine, too.. I'm not being bad.. I'm just taking her idea and running with it..) But I don't know where I'm going to like.. Break the chapters up and stuff. I'll try to make it nice. XP

Enjoy!!

_Oh.. P.S. Little note: After OOT, Link never turned back into a kid and left Hyrule for Termina.. He just disappeared.. Without turning into a kid. o.x So yeah. It's been three years since he left and we're coming back to Hyrule for this little story_.

/Now/ enjoy!!

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**Chapter 1: The Prettiest Wallflower**

It was one of those nights she would have just rather not been conscious for.  
The kind where all sorts of "noble" men and women came flocking to her father's castle to either court or be courted. Or maybe just gossip. Whichever reason, none of them appealed to her.

Her. Princess Zelda herself. Donned in what her father judged to be the most spectacular gown of the ballroom. Glorious in all it's pink and green hues, working with the champagne tones of those just-for-tonight, oh-so-perfect blonde ringlets; bringing out the very sky-like qualities of her eyes.

The big ones that had cried too much those three years ago... And that swore never to cry again. Not for him, anyway.

It was kind of easy, though -not to cry for him. He was all but forgotten in her mind... With the help of herbal remedies her father had fetched from the Gerudos. Why? Surely it's /wrong/ to forget a man that saved your life? So why did her father make sure she forgot? /Almost/ forgot, anyway.

Because he left. Hyrule, that is. He left it. And her. Zelda, that is. He left Hyrule and Zelda. To cope without him. /Without/ him. Him being Link. Of course. The very Link that, as a child, was called upon to right a wrong; to conquer an evil. To kill Ganondorf. She'd asked him to purify their little kingdom of the betrayal and deceit and such... And he did it. And after, he left. Without word, without trace, without goodbye. It had pained her beyond anything.. Not to know where he had gone... Blaming herself, finding fault in the way she'd handled everything.

But Zelda didn't think of this very much now. Remember, it had been three years... And the tea she drank with her father every afternoon helped her forget.

"Zelda, dear... How did you like that man? Sir Umbridge..? Did he tell you the story about the time he and his father were-"

"Yes, father. With much description."

"You don't sound terribly impressed." He frowned lightly. Why had she refused every suitor brought to the castle? She was twenty years old.. Much past the age of marriage.. And he could not deny that he himself was getting on in years and would need a son in law to help Zelda succeed him properly.

"Father.. They're all the same." She sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder as he began to cough violently. "Oh! Would you like me to call your nurse?" Frown of worry.

She /knew/ it was her duty to be wed and take the throne as queen.. And she did /want/ to make her father happy... But she felt that, in taking the hand of any of these men, she'd guarantee her own unhappiness.

"No, no, Zelda. Don't worry about me. I'm just getting old, that's all." He smiled amiably and she mocked it. Neither meant it. They were thinking the same thing: He's not long for this earth. (1)

"Please, Zelda. Dance with some of the courtiers.. And try to like them. They really do mean well.." Her father looked down at her beseechingly and she had no heart to tell him that they weren't -for reasons she could not place- /good/ enough. Either they were gorgeous without personality, annoying and rude, old, rich without end but bigots without limits; or a mixture of all. Cocky, aristocratic /boors/. She just laughed softly, sighing.

"Yes, papa.. I will try." She patted him lightly on the arm before flitting away.

Her dance card had been filled, and by the end of the night, her feet were killing her in the steeply heeled shoes.

After bowing to a rather large man and thanking him for his partnership in the dance, a violin struck it's cord and the whole room knew this would be the last song. Zelda was thinking of pleading a headache and retiring to her room because, oddly, there was no name in the last slot of her dancing card. 'Thank the goddesses..' She thought to herself, looking down at it as she walked away from the center of the room.

It was then, with her eyes cast downwards, that she ran into a man. A man that said nothing much as she toppled them both to the ground, falling on top of him; he only helped her up and muttered a soft 'Excuse me' before wandering away.

The princess blinked, somewhat confused, and turned to watch him go. But she could not see him anymore. "How odd.." She said aloud, intrigued by the lack of... Emotion the man had shown. If it had been any other, she would have expected a loud protest or a grand show of apology.. But there was nothing. It was handled so quickly that it was almost as if no one else had even noticed.

/Almost/.

"Princess! Are you alright?! That was a nasty fall, dolt of a man. Did he hurt you?" It was one of the maids carrying drink trays, with wide eyes and stunted height.  
"No, no.. I'm fine, thank you.. But I want to go to my room now." She said, placing a hand on her forehead, sighing.  
"Oh yes! Of course!" The maid hurried out of the crowd to set her platter down and escorted Zelda up the stairs... As if she needed help finding her room.

"Do you need anything, princess?" She asked eagerly, her eyes still huge.  
"No, nothing. I will call if I need assistance." She said, slipping into her bedroom, wanting the woman to leave her alone. "Yes, Princess." She curtsied deeply and scuffled away.

As she closed her door, Zelda heaved another sigh.. This one of relief, and went to her vanity. The first thing she did was remove the brutish shoes from her feet and sigh once more.  
Sitting in a cushioned chair, she raised her hands to pluck the pins and jewels from her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders and spill down her back in tendrils of silky gold. She then stood up and fumbled with the latch of her dress, letting the heavy, cumbersome yet oh-so-elegant contraption fall to the floor, encircling her. Stepping from it in just her sheer undergarments, she started towards her armoire to find a sleeping gown but stopped halfway; seeing one laid out on her bed.

My, the maids were thoughtful.

She slipped the frilly yet practical pink thing over her head. It was sheer, but not so much as what she'd been wearing underneath, and reached just above her knees. Moving towards the balcony, she opened the doors and looked out for a moment. The moon was huge and bright, shedding light to her bedroom that was only accompanied by a candle or two.

"Oh Zelda, how you've grown." She said to her reflection as she sat down again. As she studied her mock-self she smiled, memories tumbling from places in her head to play just behind her eyelids.

Memories she'd almost forgotten. A boy.. Who's face was blurred out considerably and that haunted her every once in awhile in his.. Unknown identity. It confused her, that she couldn't remember who exactly he was, or why he plagued her so often. She'd asked her father, but he told her the boy must have been an imaginary friend she'd made when she was smaller for lack of real playmates. She'd believed him.

Ah.. The life of a princess.. Making up friends. Wasn't it just perfect?

She sniffed, somewhat frustrated and cocked her head at the reflection as she picked up a small comb and started running it through her hair.

/Finally/ it was ending. The Princess had disappeared. The people were leaving the castle. After another night of dancing at a ball he wasn't invited to. Why wasn't he invited? Because they were rich snobs.

No.. That wasn't it. It was because he'd disappeared. Yeah.. How could they invite a person that hoped they thought he was dead?

But did he want them to think he was dead? Yes, he wanted /her/ to think he was dead. Why? Because she killed him. Well, not him.. But a part of him. That boy that grew up with kokiri folk.. That boy that hadn't touched a knife or possessed any need to hold a shield. That was her fault, wasn't it? For three years he had told himself it was. But he had watched her all night... He had been in there. It was easy to pass as a noble, as long as you didn't talk to anyone.. It was easy to get in, the guards around here couldn't catch a child trying to sneak past above their very heads... And as for the sword hanging at his belt? Wasn't that suspicious? Well, everyone carried swords. In these days of peace they were more worn as decoration than anything else.. If the sword wasn't worn, at least the jeweled sheath was placed in a man's belt on special occasions. But these men weren't to use it against their princess.

Was he going to use it against the princess?

He had told himself he was going to, but he wasn't so sure. Every blonde woman he'd spotted made him tense, but he knew it wasn't her. No, when he saw her, a chill consumed him. It was hatred, wasn't it? That's what he told himself... And when he saw her.. And that coldness took him.. He almost leapt across the room to her.. His hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. He would run to slash her down, right? /That's what he told himself/... But he held back, and didn't even move to talk to her. She probably wouldn't recognize him, he'd thought. She forgot all about him. It didn't matter to her, it had been three years.

So why didn't he talk to her? Because he was afraid his hands would move to wring her neck? Yeah.... That was it.

So he was a wallflower through it all -the most beautiful wallflower, I'll have you know- the twin pits of cerulean never leaving Zelda.. He'd sneak into her room somehow.. Yes, that was it.  
So, with what he hoped was stealth, he had made his way across the dance floor towards the grand, winding stair case that led to the more intimate rooms.

That was when he ran into her. Or, when she ran into him. He blamed himself, because he should have been aware of her presence, and he wasn't. He was more worried about getting up to her room. And so she'd run into him, and knocked him to the ground. He'd been able to not make a scene and slip away and upstairs before Zelda even knew what happened. It was easy.

So he went upstair before her.. And he made his way to her bedroom.. And he hid in her bureau..

It had been easy to place himself behind the silk dresses and satin cloaks.. It was good foresight of him to lay out one of the silk nightgowns on her bed so that she wouldn't need to open the armoire and find him... It had been /easy/ to stay quiet as she entered and let down her hair, and control his temper -was it anger running through his veins, or something else?- as he watched her undress. And then he watched her sit in front of her reflection, just /looking/ at herself like some vain little witch.

Would she just hurry up and go to bed so he could slit her throat and be done with it? He'd like to get out of there before morning and leave.. Going.. Somewhere.. He wasn't sure. Away, that's all.  
It wasn't his sword but a small dagger he held in his hand now, a knife that had been concealed in his boot. His knuckles were white as he watched her, breathing silent but shallow. 'Stay calm. Calm. Calm.' He told himself. It was that easy.. If he didn't freak out and move too soon, it would be over before he knew it.. As long as he stayed /calm/.. It would work.. Everything would work for the better.  
Was the bolt to her door in place? If she screamed, guards would come running from all sides, and it would be over. He'd kill her and kill himself.. No way in hell a sword of theirs would touch his body while he was still kicking. Her balcony door being open only made him more anxious. The light that flooded the room engulfed her, enhanced her.. He'd heard somewhere women always looked beautiful while shrouded in moonlight. That must have been it. How could the girl that warped him be so enticing, if it were not for some trick of light, or the lack of density in the fabric she wore? He muttered to himself to stay focused.

All he had to do was kill her. Kill her and run.

And then it would be over. Quick and painless.

**END**

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Okay.. That sucked, didn't it? Pretty crappy start for a story.. o.x I'm really rusty but really, really bored. I probably didn't spend enough time on it, but whatever. I liked the original better, but hey..

(1) I'm slipping that in.. I don't really know how old her dad is... But yeah. I mean, people didn't live too long back then, did they? And yeah, I know this wasn't in any certain time frame, but it seems like the life expectancy isn't too long. So yeah. o.x Read and review.. XD Thankies.  
-remembers- I don't have a title for this... Meh.. I'll think of something before I post it. If it turns out dumb, feel free to give me better suggestions for it. XP


	2. A Reunion of Sorts

No, that was not the end. It was the end of the /chapter/ but not the story. Duh. XD But I thank you for your comments. And I think you'll be relieved to know that they won't have -shifty eyes- s-e-x.. -shakes head- At least, they don't so far. I've got a whole notepad filled with Link's actions.. But not Zelda's.. which is why it's taking me so long.. But yeah. 

This won't be the last chapter either, hun.  
La! Enjoy! RR

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**Chapter 2: A Reunion of Sorts**

She was standing in front of the mirror, turning this way and that; a little champagne glass half-empty (or half-full, if you're like that) sitting on the vanity table. Link watched with bated breath, his hand shaking with how hard his little knife was being clutched. And then he moved.

Too soon.

Had she heard him?

No way.. No no no.. Not how it was supposed to work!

He wasn't even standing in the dresser anymore! How had he opened the door and stepped onto her carpet without /himself/ noticing?

He sucked in his breath, cursing himself inwardly. What the hell was the matter with him! Now he'd have to kill her before she screamed, which gave him... Who knew how much time?  
If she recognized him, it might have been a little longer, or maybe shorter... All he knew was that he needed to move now, and that he wasn't. The knife was still in his hand, pointed at her from his stationary position. Why wasn't he moving? Why when he needed stillness did he jump from hiding places, and now when he needed to move quickly he was frozen in place?

The princess, not just a little startled, drew herself away from the mirror to stand up straight in front of him.  
This was... Familiar – not the situation itself of course, she'd never had a knife pointed at her in this manner– but the boy... Rather, man, was familiar... A man that could have been a boy if not for his staggering height and toned body... And the odd age of his eyes. Blue ones shades lighter than hers that told her 'Remember him! You should remember him!'  
But a man pointing a /knife/ at her! Just /standing/ there.

Why didn't she scream? Because the silence was familiar. His breathing was familiar.. His eyes...

"You're.. He's... You're that boy.. The one from the.." She was whispering, trying desperately to string together the myriad of thoughts throwing themselves into language with her vocal cords.

Goddesses, this was bad. What was she doing? Talking to him, or to herself? Had the princess gone mad in his absence? Oh, how droll.. Insanity.. Now he didn't know whether to kill her and end the madness, or leave her be and let her suffer in the craziness.

"Dream..." She breathed, staring at him.

Link hadn't realized he was holding his breath until he let it go, the air flowing out of him in a huge gush.

She still didn't scream, but he found the will to move again. And she was pinned against the door now, the knife to her throat and his other hand palm-down on the wood next to her head.

She didn't struggle.. She saw no use. And yet, she still did not think to call for help. Surely there would be any number of guards here in a matter of moments.. Or at least a maid with a broom or something.. But she didn't call.

"I hope you've gone crazy because of me. I'd like to think that. It's flattering." His voice was gruff, but there was a mocking grin on his face; the face not an inch from hers. "To know that your mental state has become compromised because the guilt has eaten your insides, that you lack stability because you've been consumed with fear that I'd come and kill you on a night like this." He laughed softly as her eyebrows furrowed in obvious confusion. "I'm back, princess." (1)

Those herbal remedies given to her the past three years all wore off. It was like... A snap in her mind and her recollection was open to this boy.. This man:  
"Link..." It was a struggle to even mouth the name... She could scarcely breath under the pressure of his dagger in fear it would draw blood.

"The boy that would be forgotten." He said, raising his eyebrows. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, stranger." The dagger budged only a little, she should be able to breath, after all.. He wasn't one for torture.. Not yet, anyway.  
With her slice of freedom, her body began shaking violently.  
"Are you cold, princess, or are you shaking because you're scared? Do I make you uncomfortable?" Because he had no desire to be heard by anyone possibly walking by, his voice was more of a hiss than anything else.

"You left.." Her eyes narrowed as she tried to put meaning to the flood of pictures running just behind her eyelids.  
So she had put a name to the man with the knife... But she couldn't put a full history. She saw a boy... With a fairy.. A boy that had not been this hard or this... Brutal? But he hadn't actually hurt her yet.  
A hand at her side raised to touch his cheek. He was so changed... Why? What happened between herself and the boy that had turned him into... This?

Lapse of resolve and he melted at her touch. But it was only a moment his forehead rested on hers, because he'd whirled away, his back turned to her, his breathing now heavy. He looked at the knife in his hand, glaring. He had to do it. He couldn't mar her childhood, so he'd simply take her life. An eye for an eye, right?  
And so the knife was replaced at her throat, but this time his hand was pinning one of her wrists to the door with the rest of her body. "You /will/ die.." (2) He was speaking to her without /speaking/ to her, his jaw clenched.

And then the pictures revealed to her... Standing in a garden. She asked him to save her. To save Hyrule. Two small faces against a window... Looking in at the man that she had suspected evil.  
She was the only one that had seen.. And he was the only one that had believed her.

"I will die..." She said softly, nodding. She didn't know.. She /knew/ he meant to kill her... But she saw now why he had reason.. A very valid reason. There was confusion.. There was a desire to touch him again.. But she had no will. If what he wanted was to kill her.. Should she not grant it to him? She owed the man her life, after all... She owed him her trust.. If this was the right thing... Why not?

Maybe she /was/ crazy.

"You're accepting.." It could have been a question, but it could have been a statement, as well.  
"Are you so pathetic that you won't even fight for your life?" His eyes puckered as he looked at her. "You think I'm bluffing." Yeah, that was it. She was so conceited she thought he wouldn't kill her!  
Before she could answer -or react at all, really- he moved one foot to kick hers out from under her, the dagger disappearing into his sleeve. But she didn't fall to the ground, no, he caught her in his arms. It was a position many little girls dreamed their newly-wed grooms would carry them after a wedding, but much more sinister.  
He carried her out of her immediate chambers, to the balcony. "Tell me I'm bluffing and you'll drop." If the dagger hadn't scared her, this would.

It had all happened so fast... Her arms swooped around his neck.. And as he held her over the balcony, she almost screamed. What a way to go...  
Her voice was slightly wavering as she spoke, "I don't think you're bluffing..."

"What the hell is the matter with you?" He shouted, arms tightening around her in anger. "Why do you /want/ to die? You're supposed to beg me for mercy! Supposed to tell me you'll do anything, that your daddy will pay anything to keep you alive!" Mixed impulses fought for expression in his mind. He would drop her to the ground, or.. But that was what he had to do!  
He turned so that she wasn't dangling from the edge with no support but his neck and his arms, but so that her body would fall to the ground of the balcony. He reached to pry her from around him and watched her fall the three or four feet to the ground, glaring down at her.

As she hit the marble, her nose crinkled in pain. Well, she wasn't dead. She should be glad for that.  
But wasn't she just ready to die a moment ago? How did this man put her at such odds with her very mind?

More pictures came to her mind as she looked up at him. He was so powerful... But he had always been powerful.. Just not so tall.  
The little boy smiled as Impa, her nurse, taught him her lullaby.. And she remembered vaguely throwing... Something for him into the moat as she fled to escape Ganondorf... Surely it was her fault he was such an angry thing now? She had set him up to fall... Set him up to be a hero but lose something he'd never get back.  
"I can understand why you hate me... But you need to understand I'm not accustomed to drops like that. If you're going to kill me, do it a little more humanely." My, the princess retained a proud disposition under the oddest situations.

"Shut up, stupid." He looked around and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back into her room and shutting the balcony doors. He threw her roughly on the bed, checking the other door for lock and for sounds of people coming. Amazing.. No one.

And then he turned to her. "Hate you?Is thatwhat you think? And why would I hate you? Is there actually reason in that pretty blonde head you've got attached to your shoulders?" He muttered scathingly, reaching up his sleeve to return the dagger to his hand and cross his arms. "Asking me to kill you takes all the fun out of it." He said dully, almost... Pouting?

"Well you've come for revenge, haven't you? To kill me.. For your revenge?" She asked, surprised that he'd thrown her to the bed. He was confusing her. Everything was confusing her.

"Revenge for what, pray tell?" He leaned against the far bedpost, arms still crossed. "And who said I was trying to kill you?" They both looked at the knife in his hand. "This means nothing." He waved his hand towards the closed balcony doors. "That meant nothing. You're insane, is what you are. You take things too seriously." He was being sarcastic. "If I wanted revenge, why would I come up here myself and kill you? Why wouldn't I get someone else to do it?" He didn't wait for her to answer. She didn't offer one.

"To see you again? You think I had to see you just one more time? It's only been three years, Zelda. It's not like I forgot your face. It's not like you didn't bother me day and night, it's not like I've cursed myself for not being able to recall your voice or your touch." He was glaring.  
"You're wrong. I came here to kill you, not to tell you that I'm in love with you. I didn't come to tell you that I've learned hate isn't the opposite of love, but the same.. Exactly the same.." His voice was calm but his eyes were flaming.

**END **

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Muaha! He confused me there at the end... Didn't he confuse you?

(1) Um.. His language is pretty, isn't it?.. -nods- It's hard giving him a like... Personality, because... He's so.. Devoid of one in all the games I've played. Besides being all.. Hot and heroic and all that jazz.. XD So I've warped him. He's all.. Crazy. -nods- Bear with me, it gets better.. I think.. Oh! And that was also the same little quote "I'm back, princess" from my Teen Titans fic. -nods- Because I'm cool like that. xD  
(2) "You /will/ die!" Anyone recognize the quote? No? Well I was going to get the DVD to say the lady's name.. But I can't find the box.. It's not on my shelf.. Which means someone didn't put it /back/ after taking it out. -shakes fist at little sister-.. Her names starts with an A... -thinks- I don't remember. She said it when she was holding a gun to that.. God thingy and then it made plants grow on it.. And then she scraped them off and shot him anyway?

Princess Mononoke. Duh... -shakes head-

Okay! Well.. I'm done. Review. And you can't flame.. Because who the heck else is Link gonna be with/come on/. You can't think of anyone else. Ruto? No way, jose.. Anju? Aw.. If they were the same age/that/ could be cute.. But no. Malon? Haha! I actually said I wanted to marry her in OOT.. When the dad asked because I beat his chicken game.. -giggles- He told me I was too young... or something.

Alright! I'm done..


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